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THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
yOU CAN ALL READ THIS BOOK ON HERE AND YOU CAN ALL USE IT TO DEBATE AGAINST THE ENORMOUS PROPAGANDA IN OUR MEDIA, AND ON CURRENT.COM
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THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
John J. Mearsheimer
Department of Political Science
University of Chicago
Stephen M. Walt
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
March 2006 RWP06‐011
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The two authors of this Working Paper are solely responsible for the views expressed in it. As academic institutions, Harvard University and the University of Chicago do not take positions on the scholarship of individual faculty, and this article should not be interpreted or portrayed as reflecting the official position of either institution.
An edited and reworked version of this paper was published in the
London Review of Books Vol. 28, No. 6 (March 23, 2006), and is available online at www.lrb.co.uk
THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
U.S. foreign policy shapes events in every corner of the globe. Nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East, a region of recurring instability and enormous strategic importance. Most recently, the Bush Administration's attempt to transform the region into a community of democracies has helped produce a resilient insurgency in Iraq, a sharp rise in world oil prices, and terrorist bombings in Madrid, London, and Amman. With so much at stake for so many, all countries need to understand the forces that drive U.S. Middle East policy.
The U.S. national interest should be the primary object of American foreign policy. For the past several decades, however, and especially since the Six Day War in 1967, the centerpiece of U.S. Middle East policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering U.S. support for Israel and the related effort to spread democracy throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security.
This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the United States been willing to set aside its own security in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries is based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives. As we show below, however, neither of those explanations can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel.
Instead, the overall thrust of U.S. policy in the region is due almost entirely to U
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the Spanish National Court’s decision to continue investigating suspected Israeli war criminals is welcomed
The victims and their legal team have placed their trust in the criminal justice system, believing that this is the only mechanism whereby accountability can be pursued and Israel’s impunity combated. Judge Fernando Andreu’s judgment indicates that, even in the face of considerable political pressure – including statements made by the Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos – this trust in the rule of law is justified. This decision confirms the credibility and independence of the Spanish Courts.
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On 22 July 2002, at approximately 11:55 pm, an Israeli Air Force F16 fighter jet dropped a 985 kilogramme bomb on a three-storey apartment building. The attack was intended to kill Salah Shehade, the suspected leader of the Izzidin al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas’ military wing. The apartment building was located within the densely populated Al Daraj district, a residential neighbourhood in Gaza City. At the time of the attack, Shehade was on the upper floor of the building. As a result of the blast impact, eight other adjoining and nearby apartment buildings were completely destroyed, nine were partially destroyed, and another 21 sustained considerable damage. Excluding Shehade and his guard, a total of 14 civilians were killed, including eight children. Approximately 150 civilians were injured.
Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) officials have acknowledged that they decided to drop the bomb on Shehadeh’s house knowing his wife was with him, intentionally killing her as well.the Spanish National Court’s decision to continue investigating suspected... more
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US Aid: The Facts
Israel and the US have a long-established special relationship. The US was the first country to recognise the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Israel is considered America’s closest non-NATO ally in the Middle East, a region that is geopolitically crucial to the US.
The close relationship between the two states is reflected in the volume of aid Israel receives from the US. Since World War II Israel has been the largest overall recipient of US aid: from 1949-2006 Israel received more than $156 billion of direct US aid.
Until 2003, Israel received approximately one-third of the annual US foreign aid budget. In 2005, the US gave Israel more than $2.6 billion in aid, a budget exceeded only by US aid to Iraq. By comparison, Jordan received $683.6 million, Rwanda received $77 million, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories received $348.2 million.
In the past, a majority of the direct US aid to Israel was via US Economic Support Funds (ESF). The US publicly states that ESF are given in order to support stability in areas strategic to the US. However, the recipient government completely controls how it spends these funds.
The US also lends money to Israel, but these loans are frequently waived before any repayments are made. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs has estimated that from 1974-2003 Israel benefited from more than $45 billion in waived loans from the US.
Direct US aid to Israel has significantly diminished since 1996 in order to reduce Israeli financial dependence on the US. Speaking to the US Congress in July 1996, Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared, “We will begin the long-term process of gradually reducing the level of your generous economic assistance to Israel.”
Political support
The US has a history of giving Israel direct political support. In 1972, the US prevented the adoption of UN resolution S/10784 paragraph 74, which condemned Israeli attacks against southern Lebanon and Syria. In order to do this, the US used its veto power in the Security Council for only the second time.
Since 1972, the US has used its veto power to prevent the adoption of 42 UN resolutions that condemned or severely criticized actions by the State of Israel. In 2006, for example, the US prevented the adoption of UN resolution S/878, which demanded a mutual ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In 2002, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, stated that it was US policy to denounce all UN resolutions that criticized Israel without also condemning “terrorist groups.” This statement is now known as the Negroponte-doctrine.US Aid: The Facts
Israel and the US have a long-established special relationship.... more
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At least 24 Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Sderot and other Gaza-area communities since Wednesday night, shattering a recent
lull in Gaza fighting and highlighting the fragility of efforts to move Israel and Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers toward a truce.
Two rockets struck urban areas and the rest hit open areas. No one was hurt but some property damage was reported.
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The Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday that Israel holds Hamas accountable for every rocket fired by the different militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
At least 24 Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Sderot and other... more
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday told the Arabic-language al Arabiya television network that Israel had in fact agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas, contradicting comments made earlier by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who insisted that no cease-fire agreement had been made.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday told the Arabic-language al Arabiya... more
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Egyptian diplomatic sources revealed the details of a ceasefire proposal that Cairo plans to present to Israel and to Palestinian leaders from both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
Egyptian diplomatic sources revealed the details of a ceasefire proposal that Cairo... more
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The United States called on Sunday for an end to clashes between Israel and the Palestinians and a resumption of peace negotiations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks with Israel.
"The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. The United States called on Sunday for an end to clashes between Israel and the... more
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Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired 33 rockets at southern Israel on Sunday, as the Israel Defense Forces continued its operation on the coastal territory. Two Israelis were lightly wounded in separate rocket attacks.
Of the 33 rockets that hit Israel on Sunday, three were Grad-type Katyusha missiles and the rest were Qassams.
...............Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired 33 rockets at southern Israel on Sunday,... more
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